Furniture seating



Jan. 17, 1956 Filed Feb. 25, 1952 D. L. ROWLAND FURNITURE SEATING 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. DA V/D L. ROWLAND ATTORNEY Jan. 17, 1956 D. ROWLAND 2,731,076

FURNITURE SEATING Filed Feb. 25, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

DA W!) L. ROWLAND WM zk ATTORNEY FURNITURE SEATING David L. Rowland, Stockton, Calif.

Application February 25, 1952, Serial No. 273,249

13 Claims. (Cl. 155-187) This invention relates to improvements in seating, particularly as related to such furniture as chairs, divans, automobile seats, airplane seats, litters, pallets, and the like, and to improvements in the seat, back, and related parts of such furniture and to the seating material therefor.

The invention solves several important problems which can perhaps be most easily understood by considering the functional factors which go to make up an ideal seat. The ideal seat should be very light inweight, so that it can be carried from place to place without effort. It should be inexpensive, both as to its component materials and the manufacturing process. It should have a long, useful life. It should be attractive in appearance. It should be comfortable both as to the physical support of the body and as to temperature. So far as temperature is concerned, it should be neither very hot nor very cold to the touch (as is bare or exposed metal), and it should permit the free passage of air through it. The ideal seat should also be versatile, so that it may be used either indoors or outdoors, which means that in some cases it should be weatherproof, and should still be suitably esthetic for either type of use.

In considering the above functions, it will be seen that most seats of today which are considered comfortable are relatively heavy, are expensive, and are confined to indoor use. For example, the overstuffed chair, which has been the one generally preferred for comfort by most people, is very heavy, costs a great deal of money, and cannot be used out of doors. Moreover, there is no free passage of air through the seat and back, so that heat and perspiration tend to build up when the occupant sits in it for a prolonged period of time. Y

The cane bottom chair, which is open and does let air pass, so that it is comfortable insofar as temperature is concerned, is also light in weight and relatively inexpensive. But it has the great disadvantage that it is not a comfortable body support, because it is not resilient. It may flex a little, but it is not much more comfortable than a hard board.

Seats made of solid wood and molded plywood are uncomfortably hard. Seats made from cane or woven bamboo are somewhat softer, but are not resilient, so that after they have flexed, they are too hard to be comfortable. The same is true of seats made from slung canvas, leather, and the like.

Seats made from stamped or strip metal are not only hard; they are unpleasant to touch. A metal surface gets very hot in the sun, too hot to touch, in fact; in cold weather, metal feels uncomfortably cold. Seats made from spring metal are unpleasant'to the touch, and they generally are subject to rust or oxidation, even if painted.

The present invention makes it possible to take advantage of the good features inherent in metal seats and the good features inherent in upholstered seats, while minimizing the disadvantages of each. The present invention provides a seat that is very light in weight. It is nited States Patent 2,731,076 Patented Jan. 17, 1956 resilient and comfortable as a body support. It is a ventilated seat, permeable by air so as to be comfortable from a temperature standpoint. It is also not unpleasant to the touch like metal seats that are either too hot or too cold. The seat of this invention may be used either indoors or outdoors; it may be made weather resistant, and whether it is weather resistant or not, it may be made esthetically attractive for use practically anywhere. It has a very light appearance. By a novel construction, metal and fabric may be combined without causing the metal to abrade the fabric, so that the chair will have a long useful life. 5

Furthermore, the versatility of the seat of this invention is even greater than could normally be expected. It can be used not only as furniture for houses and gardens, but is readily adapted for use in automobiles, buses, railroad trains, and airplanes. In automobiles and in public transportation it provides a seat which is comfortable in either summer or Winter, since it assumes the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere and since the air passes through it readily, so that moisture can be carried away by the air.

The invention also solves an important problem in connection with military aircraft and other military vehicles. Most seating material in use today, even in military vehicles, does not afford the occupant much protection. The seat of this invention is substantially bullet-proof and shrapnel-proof. It will yield somewhat under impact, but most missiles will not penetrate it; therefore the occupant is afforded a protection which in many instances will save his life. Moreover,

' since the material is air-permeable, it can, if desired, be

brought up around the sides and back in a way that will afford further protection without being an encumbrance. In fact, this material, if desired, may be used on the inside walls of the airplane to give additional protection to occupants flying over danger Zones.

The seat of this invention includes a pair of frame members and rigid means for spacing the frame members apart so that the distance between them does not vary any substantial amount. Running between the two frame members and secured to them are a number of parallel members such as spring Wires, and these wires are arched. The arching plus a proper choice of the diameter and springiness of the wires, plus a proper spacing of the wires makes it possible to achieve the desired resiliency for the seat. Since the Wires are spaced apart, air can get through them, and they are kept spaced apart by a number of threads that run transverse to the wires or by a sheet of material secured to the wires.

An important feature of the invention is that abrasion of the fabric or other non-metallic material is prevented. This is done by covering the wires (e. g. coating them) with a soft or resilient plastic material before the transverse members are woven into or are otherwise applied to the seat. The transverse members may be applied with relatively wide spacing or with relatively narrow spacing, and in any event, some air will pass through the seat.

The plastic and the threads or sheet which cross the covered wires transversely may be made of weather re sistant material, if desired, so that the chairs may be used either indoors or outdoors. Obviously, weather resistant material need not be used if the chair is to be used solely inside. Due to the thinness of the seat it is very versatile for use in modern design and decoration and is also very light in weight.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description of several preferred embodiments thereof. It is not my intention, however, to limit the invention narrowly to the details herein disclosed. The appended claims define the scope of the invention.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of one form of chair embodying a seat and back made according to the principles of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of a modified embodiment of this invention, which may be used as an automobile seat.

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of another modified form of this invention. In this instance a pilots seat for an airplane is shown.

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of a passenger seat for an airplane, bus, or train, embodying the principles of this invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the seat of Fig. 1, some parts being broken away along the edges in order toshow the construction thereof.

Fig. 6 is a view in section taken along the line 6-6 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a view in section similar to Fig. 6 showing a modified form of seating material.

Fig. 8 is a view in section similar to Figs. 6 and '7 showing a further modified form of seating material.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 5 of a portion of a seat made from another modified type of seating material, parts being broken away along the upper and lower edges and the view being broken in the middle to show portions of the two side edges.

Fig. 10 is a view in section taken along the line 1tl13 in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view in perspective and in section showing one way of securing the spring members to the frame, as used in the seat of Fig. l, the end of one wire and a portion of its coating being shown, but broken off to conserve space.

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 showing a modified form of mounting means, used in the seat of Fig. 2.

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 11, showing a further modified form of mounting means.

The chair 10 shown in Fig. 1 illustrates how the seat of this invention may be adapted to standard design, to give greatly improved comfort and versatility, while improving the appearance as well. The chair 10 has four legs 11, 12, 13, and 14, the rear legs 13, 1 extending up beyond the seat 15 and being bent to provide a frame for the chair back 16. The seat frame members 20, 21 may be separate rigid members or may be integral with the front legs 11, 12 and welded to the rear legs 13, 14. Rigid support or spacing members 22, 23 are provided respectively between the legs 11, 12 and 13, 14. An additional spacing member 24 may be located near the upper end of the rear legs 13, 14, or may be integral with them. In this form of the invention, the rigid members 11, 12, 13,

14, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 may all be tubular steel or tubular chrome-steel (as shown) or they may be angle iron or other types of rigid members.

The seat 15 is built up by bridging the gap between the rigidly-spaced-apart frame members and 21. The basic material used here was a heavy steel spring wire 25 shown in approximately its actual size in Fig. 5. The wires 25 are chosen for their strength and resiliency, and are covered with a plastic covering 26. The plastic 26 is preferably a tough, weather-resistant, relatively resilient material, such as vinyl plastic (e. g. polyvinyl chloride) or a polyethylene plastic, a natural or synthetic rubber material. The wires 25 may be dipped in liquid or paste of the plastic, thereby getting an even coating 26 around the wire 25, or the plastic may be sprayed on the wires or tubes of cured plastic 26 may be slipped over the wires 25, or any other method of so covering the wires 25 may be employed.

One way of securing the coated wires 25 to the frame members 20, 21 is shown in Fig. 11. There, the ends of the wires 25 are held together in a folded strip gasket 27 which may be of plastic or rubber or leather and may be sealed by heat or cement to the coverings 26. The gasket 27 may be clamped in a metal sheath 2% that is secured to to the frame member 20 or 21, as by welding or by riveting or by bolts 29, which pass between the wires 25 at some predetermined interval. The wires 25 are spaced apart to give the desired resiliency and also to provide passage for air.

The next step is to apply the cross or transverse members or threads which keep the plastic-covered wires 25 spaced apart uniformly in between the frame members 20, 21. Great variety is possible here. In Figs. 1, 5, 6 and 7, a woven seat 15 is shown. The coated wires 25 are the warp, and cloth threads 34 are used as the woof, being woven in-and-out above and below the plastic-coated wires 25. Any desired weaving pattern may be used, and this is one of the ways in which the seat is esthetically versatile.

The coating 26 protects the cloth threads 30 from the abrasive action that would be present if the wires 25 were bare. Due to this coating, such woven seats have long life, whereas if the wires 25 were uncoated, the seat 15 would be impractical.

The threads 30 may be wool, cotton, nylon, rayon, linen, dacron, plastic-coated wires, hemp, vinyl filaments, or any other material having the desired characteristics, including a non-metallic surface, so that the seat will not be hot or cold to the touch, like metal seats.

Fig. 7 shows a modified type of cushion, in which an over-covering 32 of pre-woven material (e. g., any cloth) or sheet material (e. g., leather or leather substitutes or plastic, or paper) is applied to the upper surface of the coated wires 25 and the threads 31 This over-covering 32 may be secured to the coating 26 and the threads 31 by cement or other bonding material, or may be clamped by sheaths 28 on the sides, or it may be held there by tying it in place. This covering 32 may be placed on the bottom surface of the seat instead of or in addition to being placed on the upper surface.

Fig. 8 shows a further modified form of the invention in which there are no threads 3%. Instead a sheet 33 of plastic or woven cloth or other suitable material is bonded to the wire coatings 26. For-example, if the coatings 26 are vinyl plastic and the sheet 33 is also vinyl plastic, the sheet 33 may be heat sealed or cemented to the wire coatings 26. No threads 30 need be used, because the sheet 33 does the spacing for the wires 25.

In Figs. 9 and 10, a further modification is shown. Here a cushion 40 is made by causing a plastic filament 41 to cross back and forth across the coated wires 25 and to bond itself to the coatings 26. The filament 41 may lie either on the upper or lower surface of the cushion 40, or on both. For example, by applying a syrup-like vinyl plastic filament 41 in this manner, the vinyl coating 26 can be cemented directly to the filament 41 in a continuous process.

The chair back 16 is built up the same way as the seat 15, using the upper portion of the legs 13, 14 as the frame for this back cushion 16.

The seat cushion.15. and-back cushion 16 are resilient, light in weight, ventilated, arenot' metallic to the touch, and can bemade inexpensively. Almost any desired type of surface design or material may be employed.

A modified seat is shown in Fig. 2. Here is an automobile seat with a frame 101 which may be unitaryor may be made up of two L-shaped side members 102, 103 and three frame members 104, 105, and 106 running respectively across the forward end of the seat cushion. 107, the rear end of the seat cushion 107 (which is also thelowerend of the back cushion .108) and the upper end of theback cushion 108. .All these frame members may be tubular, or they may be rods, or they may be L-shaped angle liron, as shown in Fig. 12. In Fig. 12', the connection is substantially like the connection'of Fig. 11, except for the angle iron I04 and for'the Wit- 1 7 Omission of the plasticgasket 27. Here a sheath 109 is suflicient, with the bolts 110 and nuts 111 to hold the wires 25 firmly anchored.

It will be noted that the covered wires 25 in this seat 100 run from front-to-rear instead of from side-to-side, as in the chair of Fig. 1. Also they are bent at 112 so that there will be resiliency at the front edge, instead of a hard frame member 104 that might touch the legs of the person sitting in the chair. This bending could, if desired, also be done at the rear edge of the seat.

This seat is comfortable, being fully resilient, and it is ventilated. It is easy to maintain and inexpensive to manufacture and to install.

Fig. 3 shows a bullet-proof seat 200 for the pilot or crew members of an airplane, especially a military airplane. A frame member 201 provides front legs 202 and 203 and a spacer member 204 all of which are rigid. Rear frame member 205 similarly provides rear legs 206 and 207 and the rigid spacer 208. The legs 206 and 207 extend up to provide a frame for the back cushion 210.

Frame members 211 and 212 for the seat cushion 213 extend respectively between the front leg 203 and the rear leg 206 and between the front leg 202 and the rear leg 207. The seat cushion 213 comprises a number of arched spring wires 25 covered with plastic 26 and spaced in one of the manners that have been described heretofore in connection with Figs. 5 through 10. The wires may be secured to the frames 211 and 212 as shown in Fig. 11, or as in Fig. 12, or the form of the invention shown in Fig. 13 may be used. In Fig. 13 a frame member 215 of angle iron is perforated bya plurality of holes 216, through which the wires 25 extend. The wires 25 are secured by crimping the frame on the wires or by bending the ends of the wires over on the frame.

In the seat 200 are side members 220, 221 extending up from the seat to protect the pilot from bullets coming from the side directions. These members 220 and 221 are constructed similarly to the seat cushion 213. The wires for the member 220 are arched and are supported between the frame member 212 and a frame member 222; the wires for the member 221 are arched and are supported between the frame member 211 and a frame member 223. 4

The back cushion 210 is made like the seat cushion 213, the covered wires 25 running on an arched path between the upper portions .of the legs 206 and 207. There may also be side wing members 225 'and 226 extending out from the rear cushion 210. The member 225 comprises wires 25 running between the upper part of the leg 206 and a frame member 227, which is rigidly spaced apart from the leg 206 as by the member 228. The wing member 226 is similarly supported by the frame members 207 and 229. The wing members 225 and 226 and the side members 220 and 221 are not absolutely necessary, but they do give additional protection to the pilot.

In operation, the seat 200 is comfortably resilient and is ventilated, as are the seats which have been described heretofore. In this instance the wires 25 are spaced apart in such a way that the space between them is less than the width of the bullets which they are to serve as protection against. When a bullet strikes the material, it cannot therefore pass through it. The resiliency of the wires 25 is such that they will give somewhat but will then spring back and repel the bullet. The wires are very strong springs and are difiicult to break. The fact that the ends of the wires are secured firmly in place on the frame members is important, because this means that the bullet cannot carry the wires with it.

Fig. 4 shows another modified form of the invention adapted to provide a passenger seat 300 for an airliner or a bus or a train. The seat 300 includes a front cushion 301, a lower back cushion 302, and a head cushion 303. The base 304 and arms 305 are like those of conventional passenger seats but have frame members 306 and 307 secured to the bases 304.

The cushion 301 comprises a plurality of the interconnected coated wires 25 running between a front frame member 308 and a rear frame member 309 both of which are secured to the rigid frame members 306. The lower back cushion 302 is similarly constructed from covered wires 25 that run between the frame member 310 that is secured between the upright frame members 307. The head cushion 303 is similarly constructed between the frame member 310 and a frame member 311 which runs across the upper end of the frame member 307.

It will be noted in this form of the invention that the seat cushion 301 again provides a bend 312 in the wire, similar to that shown and described in connection .with the automobile seat of Fig. 2.

The seat 300 may be made adjustable in the same way that any other passenger seat may be adjustable, but instead of having the thick cushions of these other seats, they have very thin cushions 301, 302, 303 which let air pass through them, so that they are fully ventilated, but at the same time provide sufficient resiliency for great comfort. Any type of cross material such as the threads 30 and the sheet material 32 or any of the other forms heretofore mentioned may be used in this seat. This construction makes it possible to create pleasing designs in the material and also makes it possible to make the seat seemingly transparent which gives an impression of lightness and airiness.

I claim:

1. In a bulletproof chair seat or the like having two spaced-apart, generally parallel, rigid frame members and rigid means for holding said frame members apart at a substantially constant distance, the combination therewith of: a multiplicity of generally parallel spring wires each secured at each end to said frame members and arched between them, said wires being spaced apart from each other at a distance less than the caliber of the bullets which are to be stopped by said seat; a corresponding multiplicity of seamless rubbery plastic tubes, each fitting tightly around one said wire in the portion extending between said frame members; and a multiplicity of transverse nonmetallic filaments in contact with the exterior surfaces of said plastic tubes and adapted to maintain the spacing between adjacent wires, whereby said seat is a self-supporting cushion, is perforate so that it can breathe, and said wires will stop bullets from passing between them due to their spacing, their springiness serving to prevent them from being broken and their being secured to said frame members preventing their being pulled out therefrom.

2. In a chair cushion for seats, backs, and the like, having two rigid frame members and rigid means for spacing said frame members apart, the combination therewith of a multiplicity of self-supporting, parallel, uncrimped spring metal members, each secured at each end to said frame members and arched between them; a corresponding multiplicity of plastic covering members, one surrounding each said spring metal member with a resilient rubbery layer of plastic, in the portion extending between said frame members; and non-metallic means in contact with said plastic coverings for spacing said covered metal members apart.

3. In a chair cushion for seats, backs, and the like, having two rigid frame-members and rigid means for spacing said frame members apart, the combination therewith of a multiplicity of self-supporting, parallel, uncrimped spring metal members, each secured at each end to said frame members and arched between them; a corresponding multiplicity of plastic covering members, one surrounding each said spring metal member with a resilient rubbery layer of plastic, in the portion extending between said frame members; and a plurality of non-metallic strands woven as a woof with the covered metal members as a warp, for spacing said covered metal members apart.

4. In a chair cushion for seats, backs, and the like,

having two rigid frame members and rigid means for spacing said frame members apart, .the combination therewith of a multiplicity of self-supporting, parallel, uncrimped spring metal members, each secured at each end to said frame members and arched between them; a corresponding multiplicity of plastic covering members, one surrounding eachsaid spring metal member with a resilient rubberylayer of plastic, in the portion extending between said frame members; and non-metallic means bonded to said plastic coverings for spacing said covered metal members apart.

5. In a chair cushion for seats, backs, and the like, having two rigid frame members and rigid means for spacing said frame members apart, the combination therewith of a multiplicity of self-supporting, parallel, uncrimped spring metal members, each secured at each end to, said frame members and arched between them; a corresponding multiplicity of plastic covering members, one surrounding each said spring metal member with a resilient rubbery layer of plastic, in the portion extending between said frame members; and a sheet of fabric bonded to said plastic coverings, for spacing said metal members apart.

6. In a chair cushion for seats, backs, and the like, having two rigid frame members and rigid means for spacing said frame members apart, the combination therewith of a multiplicity of self-supporting, parallel, uncrirnped spring metal members, each secured at each end to said frame members and arched between them; a corresponding multiplicity of plastic covering members, one surrounding each said spring metal member with a resilient rubbery layer of plastic, in the portion extending between said frame members; and a plurality of non-metallic strands bonded to said plastic coverings, for spacing said covered metal members apart.

7. In a chair cushion for seats, backs, and the like, having two rigid frame members and rigid means for spacing said frame members apart, the combination therewith of a multiplicity of self-supporting, parallel, uncrimped spring metal members, each secured at each end to said frame members and arched between them; a corresponding multiplicity of plastic covering members, one surrounding each said spring metal member with a resilient rubbery layer of plastic, in the portion extending between said frame members; and a single plastic strand overlying said plastic coverings and bonded thereto over a backand-forth pattern generally transverse to said covered metal members, for spacing said covered metal members apart.

8. In a chair seat or the like having two spaced-apart frame members and means for holding said frame members a substantially constant distance apart, the combination therewith of a multiplicity of generally parallel spring wires of substantial thickness, each secured at each end to said frame members and arched between then'nthe upper surfaces of the wires lying uniformly along asmooth surface area; a corresponding multiplicity of tubular plastic covering members encasinggsnugly, .in a resilient rubbery seamless'jacket, each'wire at leastin the portion extending between saidframe members; and "a multiplicity of nonmetallic members transverse to said covered wires and in contact with said plastic covering, for maintaining within limits the spacing'between adjacent Wires.

9. A cushion fabric .for chair seats, backs, and the like, where the chairhas a rigid frame and the cushion has two frame members spaced apart by said rigid frame, including in combination a multiplicity of generally parallel uncrimped spring wires, each secured at each end to said frame members and arched between them; a corresponding multiplicity of resilient rubbery seamless tubes tightly surrounding each said wire at least in the portion between said frame members; and a multiplicity of non-metallic strands transverse'to said covered wires and in contact with said tubes, "for maintaining within limits the spacing between adjacent wires.

10. In a chair or the like having arigid frame and a pair of rigidly spaced-apart cushion-frame members, the combination of: a multiplicity of generally parallel, smooth spring wires, each secured at each end to said cushionframe members and arched between them; a corresponding, multiplicity of seamless rubbery plastic coatings covering at least'the portion of each said wire that extends between said cushion-frame members; and a multiplicity of non-metallic strands transverse to said coated wires and in contact with said plastic coating, for maintaining the spacing between adjacent wires, thereby forming a perforate cushion that may breathe and that requires no additional upholstery.

11. The article of claim '10 in which the ends of said wires are secured in a metal sheath that is secured to said frame.

1,2.The article of claim 10 in which the ends of the plastic-covered wires are bonded to a'plastic gasket that is clamped inside a strip metal sheath secured to said frame.

13. The article of claim 10 in which the frame members are perforated for the reception of each said wire, said wires having their ends crimped to said frame,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,169,178 Miller Jan. 25, 1916 1,649,548 Scheeler Nov. 15, 1927 1,718,386 Sherwood June 25, 1929 2,094,041 Lee et al Sept. 28, 1937 2,126,331 Humphrey Aug. 9, 1938 2,126,439 Zerbee Aug. 9, 1938 2,202,013 Lougheed May 28, 1940 2,234,677 Larsen Mar. 11, 1941 2,278,049 Zerbee Mar. 31, 1942 2,281,341 Turner Apr. 28, 1942 2,533,439 Elder Dec. 12, 1950 2,648,372 Smith Aug. 11, 1953 

